By Matthew Leggand Anika Bourley

Last updated at 13:02, Tuesday, 10 November 2009

West Cumbria was placed at the forefront of the UK nuclear industry yesterday as the Government announced that up to three new power stations could be built in the area.

Sites at Braystones, near Egremont, Kirksanton, near Millom, and Sellafield have been included on a list of 10 potential locations for new reactors.

The Government also announced plans to speed up the planning process so new plants can be fast-tracked, with the first expected to be operational by 2018.

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said the new Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC) would have to make a decision on each application within a year of receiving it, to avoid a repeat of previous lengthy inquiries.

However, he insisted that people living close to the proposed sites would have plenty of opportunities to make their views known.

Cumbrian politicians have welcomed the announcement, saying it places the county in the vanguard of the global energy industry, while environmental campaigners have accused the Government of ignoring community opposition, particularly in Braystones and Kirksanton.

The two sites are the only ones on the list to have never hosted a reactor before.

Copeland MP Jamie Reed said: “This announcement demonstrates west Cumbria is now far and away the centre of the UK nuclear industry.

“As a result, it ensures that we are truly one of the leading nuclear centres in the world.

“This has been hard won, from changing national policy, to ensuring the Sellafield land sale took place and in attracting an international development consortium which plans to start construction on three new nuclear reactors by 2015.

“Sellafield sustains the economic life of west Cumbria, and with it, our schools, hospitals and other public services.

“That empty field was a metaphor for what could have become of west Cumbria had we not taken decisive action.

“Government has listened and responded and the economic future of our area has never been brighter.”

Brian Wilson, chairman of Britain’s Energy Coast, and a former energy minister, said: “The Government’s list leaves no doubt that west Cumbria is at the heart of Britain’s nuclear renaissance.

“This makes complete sense because the skills, experience and commitment to nuclear new-build are all here to be tapped.

“Time is of the essence. It is now generally accepted that we need nuclear new-build and the only question is where to site it.”

Issues including the lack of pre-existing infrastructure at Braystones and Kirksanton, and also on the impact three reactors would have on the Lake District National Park will have to be considered.

Martin Forwood, spokesman for anti-nuclear group Cumbrians Opposed to a Radioactive Environment (Core), said: “The inclusion of these sites, by a Government clearly living in the land of nuclear nod, can only have been reached by willfully ignoring strong community opposition.

“These greenfield sites are hopelessly remote from where electricity is needed and lack the necessary infrastructure.

“No amount of massaging the planning system will make them suitable, and many others on the Government’s list are likely to fall by the wayside along the long and increasingly rocky road ahead for developers.”

Other places earmarked for reactors are: Heysham, Lancashire; Hartlepool; Sizewell, Suffolk; Bradwell, Essex; Hinkley Point, Somerset; Oldbury, Gloucestershire; and Wylfa in Anglesey.

An 11th site, at Dungeness in Kent, has been ruled out because of concerns about coastal erosion and flood risk.

Three other potential sites: Druridge Bay in Northumberland, Kingsnorth in Kent and Owston Ferry in South Yorkshire, were also deemed unsuitable.

First published at 11:35, Tuesday, 10 November 2009
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk